Open access publishing and RDI communications
Open access publishing and RDI communications
We support and encourage our higher education community in a variety of ways on open access publishing and research, development and innovation communication issues. On this page you will find our guidelines and tips on open access publishing and RDI communication.
On this website you can find information on open access publication and communication in RDI. It is being complemented by instructions at the intranet (requires login).
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Favour open access publishing!
When choosing publication channel, reflect what you would like to say and to whom.
Same text does not work in different channels: professional terminology is fine in trade magazines and scientific journals but should be avoided in newspapers and popular magazines. If possible, choose multiple and diversified publication channels. For example, scientific publications can be reprocessed into professional or popular articles. Remember also to be active after the publication is published. Advertise your publication for example in social media.
When you are choosing publication channel, choose an open access (OA) channel if possible. Open access means that the publication is openly available on the internet for to anyone to read. HAMK recommends open access publishing and the number of open access publications among all HAMK publications is followed closely. RDI support team can help you choose the right place for your publication.
Open Access publications are more accessible and visible than the publications behind the paywall. When the publication has been published openly, it is easier to link it forward and people can read it without any fees. For a researcher this means that your work has more visibility.
At HAMK we take into account the most essential open access policies and recommendations. According to the HAMK’s principles of openness, the staff members are expected to choose open access publication channels when possible.
Remember quality!
When searching for a publication channel remember to pay attention to quality. There are lots of good and reliable publication channels on the internet but also a lot of so-called predatory publications / fake online journals or scientific conferences. The predatory publishers and conferences often market their services aggressively by email or other means. So, it is good to stop to analyse their websites and advertisements for a moment.
You can recognize a good and high-quality OA-publisher by checking for example following details on their website: transparent guidelines for authors, logical contact information and sensible editorial team. Remember to also browse through the articles they have published. You can also utilize Publication forum’s publication channel search. It is recommended to make the search by using the ISSN number of the publication.
For more information, you can read an extensive article written by an expert Anna-Sofia Ruth.
Open access journals are often funded by open access fees, such as article processing charge (APC) or book processing charge (BPC). Some journals also have an embargo on open access publishing.
Embargo means that there will be a delay before the article is being opened for anyone to read. During the embargo period the article can only be read behind the paywall.
You might also run into terms like gold open access, green open access and hybrid open access when reading open access journals. Gold OA means that the publication is immediately provided as an open access version online. Green OA means that the publication is published in the journal and also self-archived in author’s home organization’s repository (Theseus in HAMK), where it is openly available. Hybrid journals do not publish as open access by default, but you can buy your article to be open access by paying the APC or BPC charges.
Open access costs are monitored in HAMK. Through FinElib consortium, HAMK is currently in agreements with following publishers: ACM, Emerald, Elsevier, Sage, Springer and Wiley. That lowers the costs of OA publishing in scientific journals. For more information on FinElib agreements, please login to the intranet.
Self-archiving publications means that staff member’s publications are archived in the organization’s own repository. The main principle of self-archiving is that the publications are online and openly accessible in the repository. In HAMK, the repository is Theseus, where the publications can be read by anyone.
The version of the article the publishers allow for self-archiving varies. The self-archived version is often called an accepted manuscript or a final draft. That is the latest version which has been sent to the publisher but does not include any finishing touches by the publisher. The pre-print version, is also good to keep saved. The pre-print refers to the version that does not yet have been through the peer review process.
For more information or support on self-archiving, please contact the RDI support team.
ORCID research identifier offers a personal identifier which gives better possibilities for a researcher to gain national and international visibility by clearly marking their own creations. Anyone can create a free ORCID ID and update their researcher profile on the ORCID database.
For more information: https://researcheridentifier.wordpress.com/
Create your ORCID ID on the ORCID website: https://orcid.org/
Creative Commons licenses define what kind of rights you are giving to those who want to make use of your publication.
HAMK’s own publications are published with a CC license. RDI support team can help you with utilizing CC licenses.
Dissemination and communication in RDI
With a communication and dissemination plan you do the right things at the right time
The first version of your communication and dissemination plan should be drawn up at the funding application stage. It will help you to get an overview of your communication. It also helps you to see how much money you need to budget for communication and marketing. For example, you may have to spend money on a website or on folding and printing marketing materials. It is also worth bearing in mind that some open publishing channels are subject to a fee.
Key issues to be identified in the plan include:
- Communication objectives
- Target audiences
- Core messages
- Timetables, communication methods, responsible persons and possible costs
The communication and dissemination plan provides guidelines and rough timetables for action. It is a tool to facilitate the implementation of the communication and dissemination. It also makes it easier for project managers and other project actors to plan their own time management. The plan should be updated as the project progresses, and modified as necessary. When communication tasks are recorded, assigned responsibilities and scheduled, the agreed tasks get done. In this way, the objectives set for communication are achieved one task at a time.
Are you working on a training, development or research project?
How you communicate about a project depends a lot on the type of project. In most cases, a division into research, development or training projects will help to outline how and when to show up. In the case of training projects, communication and marketing may need to be done more in the early stages, for example if the training needs to recruit participants. In research and development projects, it is particularly important to communicate the results achieved. These should be communicated as soon as the first results emerge.
The website and blog should be updated frequently, websites are more static
As a rule, projects communicate their activities on the HAMK’s research social media accounts and on the HAMK website. If a project sets up its own blog or newsletter, it should be published regularly. If there is the slightest fear that content will not be generated, it is better to focus on one channel and take control of it: better one active channel than five lazy ones.
It is important to set up a website for each project. The quickest, easiest and cheapest way is to create the pages on the ready-made page templates of the HAMK website. The website is fairly static, so content that is well done in the initial phase does not require constant updating in the future. The website is the place where, for example, training or other materials generated by the project can be easily compiled and distributed.
Publications are also a key communication and dissemination tool for RDI actors. Publications should also be shared on social media, for example on HAMK’s and experts’ private social media channels.
Remember the traditional media
While social media is an effective way to reach the right target groups, it is also worth remembering traditional media. Well-written media releases are sometimes published in newspapers as such, but at best they can prompt a journalist to write a story. Regional newspapers reach a large audience in the area where they operate and therefore play an important role in communicating the project. National newspapers and trade journals may also cross the news threshold when a project seeks to address a national or international challenge. In addition, RDI actors are encouraged to write about current research topics in the Guest Writing section of local newspapers. Guidance and assistance is available from Strategic Communications and HAMK Intranet. Media releases and visitor letters are sent centrally from HAMK Strategic Communications.
RDI news is also highlighted in the monthly HAMK newsletter and on the HAMK website, and shared on social media.
Use language that the reader understands
If you’re used to communicating with people in the same field, the language may be full of specialised vocabulary. To an outsider’s ear, this sounds like jargon. There is a time and a place for jargon. But it is important for the professional to recognise when it is appropriate to use it, and when it should be simplified.
Monitor the visibility and impact of research
The success of visibility can be assessed, for example, by monitoring the readership of publications, the number of followers of social media posts, the number of visitors to the website and the number of participants in events.
Ask the RDI support team for advice
If you need help with RDI communication issues, you can ask our RDI support team or the communication officers in your research units for help. You can also get more information on our intranet (requires login).